From what I recall it is more of a way of life than a religion (or philosophy for that matter), again this was taught to me 12 years ago at FGCU so take what you want from that.
Cherry picking verses is not the same as refuting an argument. The books say many things that are not practiced. In reality children are in fact taught to rely on supernatural powers.
To prove my point:
Say “Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us; He is our Protector.” Let the believers, then, put all their trust in Allah.
-Quran, 9:51
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
-Proverbs 3:5-6
To give you credit people do wayyy overestimate how much faith plays a role in the average Christian’s actual practical life. It’s not like your local Christian mechanic is fixing your car with prayers, or that they’re just gonna have faith that the Nigerian prince in their inbox is gonna send them a million dollars.
I think a better point (than the one the other guy is attempting to make) is that there’s thousands of sects that will tell you thousands of different interpretations. There’s no one right way to be religious and anyone is free to interpret their text however they feel like, so it’s not like your flavor of belief is any more valid that the people who do believe God will always protect and provide. Regardless of how uncommon it is, it’s hard to deny that the whole faith thing has given us some communities that are susceptible to things like faith healing. Which is unfortunate for the kids who don’t know any better or have no power to change the situation have to suffer the consequences of that behavior.
But let’s be honest, even if we didn’t have Christianity or abrahamic religions, chances are those same people would be doing the same shit but with crystals, horoscopes, and tarot cards.
The real problem I wish more of us were talking about is the amount of faith people put into preachers peddling politics from the pulpit. (Accidental alliteration lolll)
Ah, yes. “Interpretation”, of a thousands-year-old text, originally written by men to control other men, in Hebrew and translated at least three times in sequence before reaching even the predecessor of the popular King James Bible, then the apostles wrote the whole New Testament at minimum 50 years after all the alleged events contained within and possibly up to a couple hundred years later, then the whole thing was gutted, reordered and rewritten by old King James himself, then it was passed through the grubby mitts of between 10 and 30 generations of southern baptist-esque preacher before finally reaching the ears of the modern avid churchgoer.
If you think a single word in that book still holds the original meaning that it was written with, and more so if you think any part of that book is a factual account of events, I have several bridges to sell you. If not even that is enough to spark a little bit of self reflection, I invite you to investigate the Mormons and see what happens when religious ““interpretation”” is allowed to run free without restraint.
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Which one doesn’t?
Taoism, Buddhism…
Aren’t those more philosophies than religions? It’s been a while since I was in college.
Religions and philosophical traditions frequently have overlap. It’s not really an either/or situation.
In this specific instance I would say the distinction matters as the critical point of this discussion is the deity.
Correct
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From what I recall it is more of a way of life than a religion (or philosophy for that matter), again this was taught to me 12 years ago at FGCU so take what you want from that.
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Cherry picking verses is not the same as refuting an argument. The books say many things that are not practiced. In reality children are in fact taught to rely on supernatural powers.
To prove my point:
Say “Nothing will befall us except what Allah has decreed for us; He is our Protector.” Let the believers, then, put all their trust in Allah. -Quran, 9:51
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” -Proverbs 3:5-6
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To give you credit people do wayyy overestimate how much faith plays a role in the average Christian’s actual practical life. It’s not like your local Christian mechanic is fixing your car with prayers, or that they’re just gonna have faith that the Nigerian prince in their inbox is gonna send them a million dollars.
I think a better point (than the one the other guy is attempting to make) is that there’s thousands of sects that will tell you thousands of different interpretations. There’s no one right way to be religious and anyone is free to interpret their text however they feel like, so it’s not like your flavor of belief is any more valid that the people who do believe God will always protect and provide. Regardless of how uncommon it is, it’s hard to deny that the whole faith thing has given us some communities that are susceptible to things like faith healing. Which is unfortunate for the kids who don’t know any better or have no power to change the situation have to suffer the consequences of that behavior.
But let’s be honest, even if we didn’t have Christianity or abrahamic religions, chances are those same people would be doing the same shit but with crystals, horoscopes, and tarot cards.
The real problem I wish more of us were talking about is the amount of faith people put into preachers peddling politics from the pulpit. (Accidental alliteration lolll)
Why not? Are they thinking for themselves instead of blindly following their religious texts? Do they not trust the lord?
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Ah, yes. “Interpretation”, of a thousands-year-old text, originally written by men to control other men, in Hebrew and translated at least three times in sequence before reaching even the predecessor of the popular King James Bible, then the apostles wrote the whole New Testament at minimum 50 years after all the alleged events contained within and possibly up to a couple hundred years later, then the whole thing was gutted, reordered and rewritten by old King James himself, then it was passed through the grubby mitts of between 10 and 30 generations of southern baptist-esque preacher before finally reaching the ears of the modern avid churchgoer.
If you think a single word in that book still holds the original meaning that it was written with, and more so if you think any part of that book is a factual account of events, I have several bridges to sell you. If not even that is enough to spark a little bit of self reflection, I invite you to investigate the Mormons and see what happens when religious ““interpretation”” is allowed to run free without restraint.
Yeah like fucking children, treating other people as property, or murdering those who believe a different fake thing is real.
Thanks for showing me what the block button is for
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